Why would an online review site discourage review solicitation? Two big reasons:1. Would-be customers might not trust you. Let’s
face it, most business owners are only going to solicit reviews from
their happy customers, not the unhappy ones. Over time, these
self-selected reviews create intrinsic bias in the business listing -- a
bias that savvy consumers (read: yelpers) can smell from a mile away.
No business is perfect, and it’s impossible to please 100% of your
customers 100% of the time. 2. The solicited reviews may get filtered, and that will drive you crazy. Solicited
reviews often get filtered by our automated review filter. Why do these
reviews sometimes get filtered? Well, we have the unfortunate task of
trying to help our users distinguish between real and fake
reviews, and while we think we do a pretty good job at it with our fancy
computer algorithms, the harsh reality is that solicited reviews often
fall somewhere in between. Imagine, for example, the business owner who
“solicits” a review by sticking a laptop in front of a customer and
smilingly invites her to write a review while he looks over her
shoulder. We don’t need these kinds of reviews, so it shouldn’t be a surprise when solicited reviews get filtered. Yelp
exists to connect people with great local businesses. We do this by
providing people with as much trustworthy information as we can. If
consumers don’t trust our content, people stop using Yelp, and everyone
loses: consumers don’t have a resource they can trust to make spending
decisions, would-be customers stop visiting your business listing.There’s no silver bullet for a great reputation: the best way to succeed on Yelp is by focusing on great customer service (building out a robust business listing usingbiz.yelp.com’s free tools also doesn’t hurt).There is a way to let your customers know you’re on Yelp without being overly solicitous. The
power of word-of-mouth is that folks generally trust recommendations
when they occur as part of an organic process. There is an important
distinction between “Hey, write a review about me on Yelp,” [BAD] and “Hey, check us out on Yelp!”
[GOOD]. It’s the difference between actively pursuing testimonials and
simply creating awareness of your business through social media outlets.The
latter allows consumers to vet your online reputation without feeling
like they’re being solicited. To an established Yelp community member, a reminder of your Yelp presence can act like a dog-whistle prompting them to share their feedback about your business with fellow Yelpers.Here are three ways to remind customers on Yelp without being overly solicitous: